Winnipeg product Jason Botterill has cracked veteran insider Frank Seravalli's short list of candidates expected to interview for the Toronto Maple Leafs' newly-vacant general manager job.

Following their postseason exit, the Maple Leafs - and more notably team president Brendan Shanahan - have found themselves in a bit of a pickle. 

With last week's 'Dubas Debacle' officially a thing of the past, Maple Leafs' management will need to sort out its options with the 2023 NHL Draft fast approaching. 

This offseason will actually see the draft as well as the opening day of free agency occur within a span of just three days. 

For those not quite as familiar with Toronto's recent situation, a brief recap might be of some assistance.

At the Maple Leafs' year-end, locker clean out media availability, GM Kyle Dubas opted to speak with reporters, to which he hinted at the need to put his family first and weigh his options before considering the possibility of re-signing with Toronto.

His contract was up for renewal, and as it turns out, Dubas' newfound revelation ended up being a drawn-out bargaining chip between his camp and Shanahan. 

Shanahan addressed the media last Friday, to which he made it clear that he did not appreciate Dubas' negotiation tactic, and that the team would be moving on from the youthful manager. 

This news was received both positively and negatively among Leafs fans, as Dubas had long been dubbed as the mastermind behind Toronto's salary cap, roster makeup and postseason plan. But other than the Leafs' single win against Florida, his team had never even made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Fast forward a week-and-a-half, and a number of names have moved to the top of Shanahan's apparent list of available personnel for potential interview with Toronto for the open GM gig. 

According to Seravalli, Botterill is No. 1 on the team's group of candidates. The Daily Face-Off insider did hint at more names to come, but his Tweet identified Marc Bergevin, Brad Treliving and Peter Chiarelli - in that order - as other possible prospective options for Shanahan and Co. to paw through. 

Since the news of his departure from Toronto, Dubas has since been in heavy contact with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a club with whom many believe he will eventually strike a deal.

On the other hand, Botterill - to whom THN: Pittsburgh's Jacob Punturi hinted at being a possible fit with the Penguins prior to Dubas' availability - is currently serving as an assistant general manager to Ron Francis with the expansion Seattle Kraken. 

The former St. Paul's High School standout was fired from his role as GM of the Buffalo Sabres in the summer of 2020 - a job he held just north of three years. 

With significant orders of business set to begin soon, Toronto will need to make its decision in short order.